ABSTRACT
To determine the prevalence of acute decompensated heart failure [ADHF] among the acute medical admissions in Adan Hospital, Kuwait, and describe their clinical characteristics and in-hospital mortality. Prospective study. Medical wards and coronary care unit at Adan Hospital, Kuwait. All adult patients admitted from 18[th] of September to 17[th] of November 2008 with the diagnosis of ADHF. Echocardiography. Determination of the prevalence of ADHF among medical admissions, their clinical features, and their in-hospital mortality. The prevalence of ADHF was 14.5%. The mean age of our patients was 60.3 +/- 13.2 years. There was a male preponderance [71.8 Vs 28.2%]. There was a high percentage of co-morbidities among our patients. The average length of stay was 8.5 days. The in-hospital mortality was 4.9%. Beta-blocker use was relatively less than other studies. 88.5% patients had echocardiography done and 47.3% of them had preserved left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF > 45%]. The clinical profile of this sample of ADHF reported from Kuwait is different from that observed in other clinical studies. These findings might have implications in the need for a nationwide database for future investigation and comparison